Check Costco Rental Car site for prices. You do not need to pay until you pickup car. In Hawaii, check Hawaii Discount Rental Cars for deals. They will return with best price and you do not have to pay until you pickup your car.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cathleen Speidel - March 2007:
I would pass on that, while going to Orbitz.com is a good way to get an overview of car rental companies and their prices, I have found:
1) That going to the actual car rental company direct may prove to have better deals than Orbitz.
2) Payless Car Rental is not shown on Orbitz.
3) Payless Car Rental often beats the competition. They also offer a discount for people over 50 years old. Sign up for Perks.
4) There are some good car rental coupons found in the Entertainment Book. We've used the Alamo one often (Alamo often doesn't take it from you so you can use it again for more savings.)
September - 2007:
Buyer Beware: Avoid the Hertz car rental and their discount saving numbers. Both the Frontier Employee discount or the Bankcard discount are still higher priced than what you can do by dealing direct with Dollar or Thrifty. I used both of these companies monthly, their prices are not always the same at the airports. I avoid brokers like Orbitz, Priceline, Expedia etc etc, due to the fact they sometimes have cancellation polices which are difficult. And we all know how non-rev flying can change without notice. Both Dollar and Thrifty's frequent users clubs will get you going at the airport quicker. Dale the RON
Steve Summers - August 2010
I agree on the two comments above regarding the use of Orbitz.com or other such sites to rent a car. I never use them. Instead, I am a member of both Thrifty and Avis frequent rent programs. They are free to join. My Thrifty account is set up so that I receive a free day for every 15 days of rental. I use this free day in more expensive cities like Boston. My Avis account is set up to get miles on my United account. Either way, when you join a frequent rental program, you avoid lines at the rental agencies counters. Often, the rental shuttle bus drops you off at your car. You often get emails about rental specials when you are a member. Also, always take at least two laps around your rental looking for any damage. I never pay the extra fees, but did get assesed once for a cracked bumper. The amount was $450.00. Because my car insurance deductible was $750.00, my VISA card covered the $450.00 damage fee. The people at Thrifty told me that VISA is much better than MasterCard or American Express when paying those fees. It did take almost two months to clear everything up, but I learned my lesson to carefully look for chips, cracks, dents, scratches, or stains; and I make sure that they are noted before I leave any rental car lot.
Russ Dewitt - December 2011:
My experience is to use Hotwire to find the low fares if you want the opportunity to cancel last minute. I have found Priceline is the best source for the lowest fees. In many cities check to see if the taxes and fees are higher at the airport than a rental in town like DC and Phila.and SFO. All of these cities have easy access to downtown from the airport by subway or train.
Check Costco Rental Car site for prices. You do not need to pay until you pickup car. In Hawaii, check Hawaii Discount Rental Cars for deals. They will return with best price and you do not have to pay until you pickup your car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cathleen Speidel - March 2007:
I would pass on that, while going to Orbitz.com is a good way to get an overview of car rental companies and their prices, I have found:
1) That going to the actual car rental company direct may prove to have better deals than Orbitz.
2) Payless Car Rental is not shown on Orbitz.
3) Payless Car Rental often beats the competition. They also offer a discount for people over 50 years old. Sign up for Perks.
4) There are some good car rental coupons found in the Entertainment Book. We've used the Alamo one often (Alamo often doesn't take it from you so you can use it again for more savings.)
September - 2007:
Buyer Beware: Avoid the Hertz car rental and their discount saving numbers. Both the Frontier Employee discount or the Bankcard discount are still higher priced than what you can do by dealing direct with Dollar or Thrifty. I used both of these companies monthly, their prices are not always the same at the airports. I avoid brokers like Orbitz, Priceline, Expedia etc etc, due to the fact they sometimes have cancellation polices which are difficult. And we all know how non-rev flying can change without notice. Both Dollar and Thrifty's frequent users clubs will get you going at the airport quicker. Dale the RON
Steve Summers - August 2010
I agree on the two comments above regarding the use of Orbitz.com or other such sites to rent a car. I never use them. Instead, I am a member of both Thrifty and Avis frequent rent programs. They are free to join. My Thrifty account is set up so that I receive a free day for every 15 days of rental. I use this free day in more expensive cities like Boston. My Avis account is set up to get miles on my United account. Either way, when you join a frequent rental program, you avoid lines at the rental agencies counters. Often, the rental shuttle bus drops you off at your car. You often get emails about rental specials when you are a member. Also, always take at least two laps around your rental looking for any damage. I never pay the extra fees, but did get assesed once for a cracked bumper. The amount was $450.00. Because my car insurance deductible was $750.00, my VISA card covered the $450.00 damage fee. The people at Thrifty told me that VISA is much better than MasterCard or American Express when paying those fees. It did take almost two months to clear everything up, but I learned my lesson to carefully look for chips, cracks, dents, scratches, or stains; and I make sure that they are noted before I leave any rental car lot.
Russ Dewitt - December 2011:
My experience is to use Hotwire to find the low fares if you want the opportunity to cancel last minute. I have found Priceline is the best source for the lowest fees. In many cities check to see if the taxes and fees are higher at the airport than a rental in town like DC and Phila.and SFO. All of these cities have easy access to downtown from the airport by subway or train.